Drifting in Time
by squishy the jellyfish
Summary: AU Modern Romance Pillar Pair three-shot. As time moves, do we really have a chance to stay close to who we love?
1. Bloom

**A/N**** (Read for information) **I had a breakdown the other day about my writing and nearly stopped doing it all together, but here I am! Now, before you say anything, 'The Prince of Air Trek' will be resuming shortly. It is not on hiatus, like a majority of my fics ;; I have a few more paragraphs and a race to write in the next chapter, so it may take a few days…or a few hours, who knows? But I do apologize for the long wait, I know it's the holidays here, and I should be getting my ass--totally ruins the mood of this story--into gear but…frankly, I suck at writing long chapters TT Unfortunately it may be a bit rushed because I'm going back to school in a few days and I have to focus on my homework, essays and projects etc.

Okay, (yes I know, it's a very long A/N but please bear with me!) I hope you enjoy this short three-shot! I was experimenting with my writing to try and bring the best of it out, and I'm going to try and alter my style because a) I hate it b) change is good, and c) this story has to fit a certain mood. Plus, I was doing a bit of beta-ing…**if anyone needs a beta, send me a PM and poof!**

Thank you for bearing with me! (Provided if you did and actually got past this part )

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Prince of Tennis

**Rating: **G-PGish

**Warnings: **none at the moment, but shonan-ai should appear somewhere…

**Genre: **I like to think of this as a modern romance. Take it as though those two words are melded into one.

**Summary: **As time moves, do we really have a chance to stay close to who we love?

**Pairing: **Mystery pair. Read on to find out!

**Drifting in Time**

By squishy the jellyfish

**Part one: Bloom**

It is said that the speed of which Japanese Cherry Blossom petals fall is five centimeters per second. This, however, is a metaphorical saying which shows how slow life is, and that in time, people/petals may start out together, but can drift apart. Time, Echizen Ryoma reflected, was never on his side…

_Life __hated_ _Ryoma. One day, jolly old life decided that he would move to a different country and dump him at a school with people who had no clue who he was. And to top it off, life decided that it wanted Echizen Ryoma to be late for his first day too. _

"_Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" He shouted as he flew down the stairs, ate his breakfast of grilled fish and rice in record time, picked up his bag and sped out of the house. His cousin Nanako hardly got out the 'good' in the 'good morning' she said to him before the blur which was Ryoma was gone._

**THESONGHANGINGBYAMOMENTGAVEMETHESUDDENOUTBURSTFORTHISSTORYBLAMELIFEHOUSE**

"_Our new topic is 'people'. How you address others as well as how you address yourself."_

_Many groaned at that. It wasn't the topic, just the mention of more work which would ultimately lead up to a test was the problem._

"_Quiet down and stop complaining. Now," the teacher continued, picking up a piece of chalk as he walked towards the blackboard, "'I', is how you would address yourself. As in, 'I went to the store'. So really, 'I', directly translates into 'watashi', 'boku' or for some of you, 'ore'." __The teacher began writing examples on the board with the white chalk, choosing to ignore the chatting in the back of the room. He smiled wickedly as he turned back at his rapidly quieting students, "Who'd like to write up an example of their own? In English," he added as an afterthought. This would shut them up for sure! However, before the teacher could follow through with his 'full proof-plan', a knock came from outside the classroom door before it opened, revealing a boy with emerald coloured hair and big golden eyes. _

"_Sorry, sir," the boy mumbled, drawing a few glances from the students, he closed the door behind him and approached the teacher with two slips of paper; one was his timetable/map, and the other appeared to be his registration form._

_The teacher took the form and scanned through it briefly before setting it down on his desk. "Echizen Ryoma, right?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_I'll forgive your lateness today, but tomorrow, you'd better be here early," he warned, pointing to an empty seat at the very back. "Please take your seat."_

_Ryoma got out a 'Yes' which more than likely fell on deaf ears before walking swiftly to his seat and sitting down. Taking out his English books, he set about staring idly out the window while the teacher started talking again._

"_Now, where was I?" The teacher said, "Oh yes, as I recall, I needed someone to write up a few examples on the board of how to use 'I'. In English." He looked around the room almost hopefully so he could catch someone doing the wrong thing and punish them for it. His eyes fell upon the Echizen Ryoma fellow and he grinned maliciously. The kid was staring absently out the window, was he even listening?! A dark cloud appeared above the teacher's head as he chuckled aloud, scaring the students in the first two rows. "Echizen-kun, maybe you could write them up?"_

_No reply. _

"_Echizen!"_

"_Sorry, what?" Ryoma looked up, a dazed expression on his face which drew out many giggles._

_The teacher sweat dropped. "Please write some examples up on the board of how to use 'I'."_

"_What one?" Ryoma asked with a bored look._

"_Huh? What do you mean, what one?"_

"_There's two. They're homophones."_

"_Oh, yes, of course," _brat…_ "The one we use to address ourselves, Echizen-kun. Please," he said, holding out the chalk._

_Ryoma got up from his seat wordlessly before walking to the front of the class to collect the chalk and to the board to seemingly 'awe' the students with his mastery of the English language._

Damn brat…

_Another knock resounded from the door, startling the teacher from his…thoughts. "Come in."_

_Ryoma turned around._

No, time was definitely _not _on Echizen Ryoma's side. If he wasn't in so much pain right now, he'd probably laugh at his predicament, albeit it'd be pretty sick. Wounded and bleeding he was, on the side of a road with countless numbers of cars passing by not doing a damn thing. _Looking sick be damned…_he thought before grinning awkwardly and clutching his stomach in pain. But then, another pain began to lurch, this time in his chest. His grin subsided. This was the familiar lurch that he got often, the pain that haunted him to no end. Tears slipped out of golden slits as Ryoma hugged himself.

"_Ah, Tezuka-kun, what is it?" The teacher asked cheerfully__ as he looked at the diligent honor student standing tall in the doorway._

_Ryoma stared. Not to glance idly and go back to his seat like he usually would, but to stare. He didn't understand how this guy had captured his attention so suddenly, but it did. Maybe it was the tousled light brown hair, the intricate hazel eyes hidden behind delicate lenses, or perhaps the fact that this boy was just…utterly gorgeous. __Ryoma wasn't sure._

"_Nakamura-sensei wanted me to give you this," he said, handing the English teacher a slip of paper before glancing quickly at Ryoma. (Cue soft Romantic Asian music)_

_Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, each filled with untold stories and mysteries, before Tezuka dropped his gaze and the teacher handed him back a stack of books—how he got them and returned so quickly, Ryoma didn't know—to take back to his own class._

"_There you go, Tezuka-kun. Tell Nakamura-sensei congratulations for his marriage," the teacher said, smiling._

"_Yes, sensei. Thank you," Tezuka nodded before turning around and walking out the classroom._

_For a short while, that request had Ryoma thinking what Tezuka would look like on his wedding day…wait. 'Tezuka' sounded awfully familiar, awfully, awfully familiar. The sound of the recess bell broke him out of his thoughts as the first year students started to pack up and leave the classroom. Following suit, Ryoma slid his books back into his bag, swung his bag over his shoulder and left for morning tea. _

**THESONGHANGINGBYAMOMENTGAVEMETHESUDDENOUTBURSTFORTHISSTORYBLAMELIFEHOUSE**

"_You know, you look a lot younger without your glasses on," Fuji smiled as he sat opposite Tezuka on the table._

_Ryoma looked up from his food. Directly in front of him was the back of Tezuka. He frowned, how was it that the name was familiar to him?_

"…_I need my glasses to see, Fuji. Otherwise I couldn't play tennis."_

_And then it__ slid into place. Ryoma had been told about the tennis team here and that Tezuka Kunimitsu was the captain by the principal. That was why the name sounded familiar! Yet, something still didn't fit in the puzzle. It was like the final piece that either didn't come with the pack, or you'd lost it somewhere._

"_What about contacts?" Fuji chirped._

"…_Fuji," Tezuka said dangerously._

_Ryoma took another bite of his food before nearly choking on it. Tezuka Kunimitsu! The elder child whom he used t__o play with before left. He had taken to talking to the boy because they were neighbors, and soon were inseparable friends. But then Tezuka had to leave because he was only in America for a holiday. He'd told Ryoma that he was sorry but Ryoma had cried many times after his departure anyway. Ryoma swallowed the rest of his food and grabbed his food. He was never one to waste time, he always got to the point. 'Short and sweet' was how his mother put it. He walked over to the table where Tezuka was sitting and cleared his throat rather loudly._

_Tezuka turned his head to the boy and raised his brow slightly; an indication for Ryoma to explain why he was there. _

_Ryoma suppressed a twitch. Did Tezuka turn mute after all these years? Really…a simple 'hi' would've sufficed just fine. The smiling guy—Fuji—looked at Ryoma with an amused expression as he gripped his drink bottle between his hands. Ryoma frowned, "You…you're Tezuka Kunimitsu, aren't you?"_

"…_What is it?" Tezuka asked bluntly._

_Ryoma bit his lip. He couldn't think of anything to say, what _should _he say at a time like this? Did Tezuka even recognize him?_

_Fuji grinned. "Saa, Tezuka. It seems to me that you have an admirer." _

_Tezuka frowned, but softened it once he looked back at the freshman he recalled from earlier that morning. "May I help you?"_

"_You never wanted glasses," Ryoma said finally, gathering his wits about him. _

_Tezuka blinked. "What do you mean?"_

_Ryoma's expression saddened. "You don't remember me, do you?"_

_Tezuka blinked. Again. "I'm afraid not."_

_Ryoma looked up and stared at him straight into the eyes. "The boy, the little boy from America!"_

_Tezuka gazed into the big golden eyes open before him and tried to search his memory banks for a memory of the boy. "What's your name?"_

"_Echizen Ryoma."_

_Then it clicked, and all the memories of the boy flooded back. "Echizen, you're, you're here?"_

"_You remember me?" Ryoma asked incredulously._

_Fuji's grin became that much wider._

_Tezuka nodded. "You know, your parents had contacted my own after we left and told them that you cried when I departed."_

_Ryoma had to fight not to blush. "N-no, I didn't. You must be mistaken."_

_Seeing the colour creep onto the freshman's cheeks amused Tezuka greatly, and also altered his demeanor completely. It was cute, even. He smiled, "Judging by your reaction…"_

"_N-N-No! I didn't!" Ryoma flailed, before turning his back to the tennis captain and pouting adorably._

"…_I would have thought otherwise," Tezuka said in a playful tone._

_Fuji looked incredibly surprised. How was it that Tezuka could be this…happy with this 'Echizen Ryoma' when they only knew each other briefly, and yet, be so…serious and __unhappy__ with people he'd known for years? Wow…this Echizen guy must be pretty good. Even Fuji couldn't coax out that emotion in three-years, let alone in the time span of five-minutes. _

"_Listen Tezuka," Fuji said as he looked at the captain. "I've got to run an errand, so I'll leave you two," he smiled, swinging his bag on his shoulder and getting up. "See you later!" and he left._

_Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement. _

"_So…he seemed nice?" Ryoma said sarcastically, not knowing what else to say._

_A faint smiled appeared on Tezuka's lips as he gestured to the seat opposite his own. "He's an old friend. A bit mischievous and sly, but he means well."_

_Ryoma followed Tezuka's silent instruction and sat down. He suddenly felt comfortable in the welcoming presence which was Tezuka. "So, how are you?" It was a plausible question, Ryoma thought to himself, well, it'd be enough to break the ice, right?_

"_When are you the type of person to ask something as formal as that?" Tezuka asked, his elbows touching the back of his chair in a relaxed pose. _

_Ryoma twitched. "When did you become as stony as a rock?"_

_Tezuka chuckled, well, as close to a chuckle as humanly possible for Tezuka. "That retort was weak, what have you become?"_

_Ryoma's expression suddenly softened. "…You're so different when you're with your friends."_

"_You're not a friend?"_

"_Idiot. We haven't seen each other for four years!" Ryoma stated._

_Tezuka grinned something chronic. "You've been counting," he accused good-humoredly._

"_If I wasn't on the other side of the table, I'd have punched you…" Ryoma snorted._

_Tezuka smiled fondly at the boy._

**Next chapter: Part two: Flourish **

**

* * *

**

**A/N **Any type of review/comment would be great! 'The Prince of Air Trek' chapter will be up soon!

Squishy.


	2. Flourish

**A/N **Hello everyone! It's the weekend here and I'm happy to anounce that the next part of 'Drifting in Time' had been completed! All that's left now is a conclusion which I can't wait to write/type. I really enjoyed writing this today, really, really enjoyed it :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy _reading _it.

* * *

**Drifting in Time**

By squishy the jellyfish

**Part two: Flourish**

He was ready. Well…as ready as he could've been as he clung onto the nearby sign-pole and hoisted himself up slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recover from the newest pain that had surfaced somewhere in his left leg after getting up.

_Tezuka irked.__ It was particularly irritating when someone was either pretending to be innocent and knew nothing, or just didn't know anything altogether._

"_What?" Ryoma inquired, popping another rice ball into his mouth. _

_Tezuka didn't flinch. "You told her that her hair was too long?" It was more of a statement than a question._

"_Hm?" Ryoma looked up at the bespectacled male._

_Tezuka sighed, his hands resting calmly in his lap. __"That girl…"_

"_Mmm, so what?" Ryoma asked, his gaze dropping back to his food again._

"_It was insensitive__."_

_Ryoma raised a brow__, clearly perplexed by his old friend's opinion. "Insensitive?"_

"_She's attracted__ to you."_

"What?_" _

_Tezuka could have snickered. "You didn't know?"__ Tezuka had seen the many looks the freshman girl had given Ryoma, it was downright pathetic how she kept going after him when he was completely oblivious. Still, he felt a little sorry for her nonetheless._

_Ryoma threw a glare at the older boy.__ "What's there to know?"_

_Tezuka let out a long sigh, which was more or less rather an exhale. "Do you not understand what White Day is?"_

_The Ponta killer tilted his head to the side quizzically, "Was White Day today?"_

_Tezuka's face darkened. _

_Ryoma raised a shoulder. "She really shouldn't have bothered with chocolate…"  
_

"…_It was for White Day," Tezuka exclaimed._

_Ryoma's eyes widened comically and then blushed as he shifted awkwardly in his seat. "It couldn't, I mean-no, what? Why would she-"_

"_She likes you."_

_The Ponta killer's face showed some form of regret. "Oh. I guess that was pretty insensitive."_

_Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose. _

"_I suppose I'll have to tell her that I'm not interested in gir-her," he corrected quickly, the blush reddening in colour._

_A faint smile appeared on Tezuka's lips._

Ryoma fumbled around in his back pocket and pulled out the very thing that would ultimately save him. The men that had fought so hard to get his wallet earlier had failed to see his mobile, of all the things… Scanning through his phone he hesitated. Ryoma narrowed his eyes before skipping down a few contacts and hitting the 'call' button. Holding the mobile to his ear, he waited.

"_Oi, what's this?"_

"_Aww, how cute."_

"_Faggot! Faggot! Faggot!"_

_The door flew open, a boy ran out of the classroom and out into the hall clutching his binder book._

"_Where are you going?!" Another boy yelled from the classroom._

_The other didn't stop, he kept running, up the stairs…and straight into the chest of a much taller boy._

_The taller boy stumbled backwards, the flailing mass of the shorter boy in his arms. "E-Echizen!"_

"_It's all your fault…" he mumbled, hitting the other boy weakly—not quite enough to actually hurt._

"_What?" _

"_It's…all your fault!" Ryoma cried into Tezuka's chest, attempting to hit the older boy again but was stopped midway __by some unknown force. He glared up at Tezuka poisonously before pushing him away and running up the whole flight of stairs. _

"_Echizen!" Tezuka called after the boy, stepping on something in his haste. He glanced down and lifted his foot, it was a binder book. He knelt down and picked it up gently, a slip of paper falling out almost instantly which floated gracefully to the floor. Tezuka's eyes widened._

Tezuka sighed as he fell back in the chair. He had ended up staying back at school to finish a project and a few essays until pretty late. He put his arm over his eyes. He was considerably tired after all of that non stop work, but it was worth it. His computer had decided to die on him the other day, so he had no choice but to stay back and use the school computers instead.

"Ah, Tezuka-kun, everything in working order I hope?"

Tezuka jolted forwards in the chair. "A-ah, sensei."

The teacher smiled warmly, still positioned in the doorway of the classroom. "I think that's enough for tonight. Besides, you've been working a little _too _hard, I think, Tezuka-kun."

Tezuka nodded before piling his books on top of each other and putting his pen back into his pencil case.

"Have a good weekend!" The teacher shouted as he walked back out into the hall.

Tezuka concealed a yawn before feeling a slight vibration in his pocket.

_Tezuka flew up the stairs and through the door. He stood panting, holding Ryoma's binder book as he stared at the Ponta killer's hunched form in the far corner of the roof.__ He approached the boy swiftly, kneeling down in front of him. "Echizen…"_

_Ryoma glanced up and spotted the book. "Give it back," he ordered, reaching his hand out with the means of snatching the book._

"_No," Tezuka replied, dodging Ryoma's hand. "Tell me what happened."_

"_Give. It. B__ack," Ryoma bit out._

_Tezuka's brows furrowed. _

"_I hate you. I fucking _hate _you!" He snarled._

_Tezuka winced, __like an abused puppy ready to be struck again. _

"_I hate how you hurt me!"_

_A flinch._

_Ryoma gazed downwards. "…I hate how you made me love you," he said before wrapping his arms around Tezuka's waist and pulling him towards him roughly__, making the older boy gasp._

He must have fallen asleep, Ryoma thought to himself as he spotted a familiar figure coming towards him in the corner of his eye. He vaguely recalled hanging up his mobile and going to lean against a brick wall of a building…but after that it was just blank.

"Echizen!" The figure shouted, rushing to him.

Ryoma closed his eyes.

_Tezuka nestled into the warmth of the freshman's chest, finally submitting to the unrelenting hold of the boy. "Tell me what happened."_

"_No…" Ryoma said stubbornly, running his hand through the other's silky—yet tousled—hair idly. _

"_Echizen…"_

_Ryoma sighed. "They saw that piece of paper, made fun at me and called me derogatory names."_

"_They what?" Tezuka fumed, attempting to pull out of the freshman's grasp but failed. "E-Echizen!"_

"_Stay," he muttered simply, nuzzling into the brown hair he was previously running his hands through. _

_Tezuka's eyes softened. This boy, this _kid, _had been teased about his sexuality, had run out of the classroom upset and yet still bounced back. It was downright amazing. Surely he would break sometime…not that Tezuka wanted that. _

"Tezuka-san."

Tezuka looked up from where he was sitting and saw a woman, most likely the doctor who had treated Ryoma's wounds. "Yes? How is he?"

"He'll be fine. He has a few bad bruises and cuts, but they should heal in time," the woman smiled empathetically.

Tezuka breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anou…are you his older brother perhaps?" The doctor asked, still smiling.

Tezuka downcast his eyes, it was a fair enough question for someone who didn't know either boy. Besides, she probably got the idea that 'Tezuka' was his given name. "A friend."

"Oh, pardon me," she said.

"It's okay…"

"He's asking to see you, Tezuka-san," she exclaimed.

The captain of the Seigaku tennis team got up wordlessly and followed the doctor into Ryoma's room.

"I'll leave you two then," the woman smiled once more before closing the door behind her.

Tezuka inclined his head slightly and then walked over to the bed where Ryoma lay. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting down into the chair next to him.

"Do you know why they attacked me?" The freshman asked calmly, avoiding looking at the third year completely.

Tezuka didn't reply.

"It was because I was gay. Said that they saw me kiss you," He answered himself, emotionless and unmoving.

Tezuka cringed. "Echizen…"

"Don't." Ryoma smiled suddenly, "Because I don't care. I don't give a flying fuck what they think."

Tezuka opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Ryoma's lips as he leaned over and pressed them against his own.

**Next: : Part three: Wilt**

* * *

Reviews are loved!


	3. Wilt

**A/N **All finished. I liked writing this, so I hope you enjoy it!

**Warnings: **shonan-ai, sap etc.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Prince of Tennis.

**Recommended Song: **One More Time - Tenmon.

**

* * *

**

Drifting in Time

By squishy the jellyfish

**Part three: Wilt**

It always felt like time stopped when they were together. It felt as if bolts of electricity surged between them when they touched and even more so when they kissed. Ryoma buried his face into his pillow. All of this would be ripped away. All of it. Tezuka's touches, rare smiles and soft lips. He bit his lip. It had been a while since the assault incident and Ryoma had recovered completely, and yet…he felt pain. Sure, they had started going out now, and now the teasing had stopped--thanks to Tezuka-glares--but...

"_You told me you needed to talk to me?"_

_Tezuka nodded and drew in a sharp breath. "Ryuuzaki-sensei has given me the opportunity to train overseas in Germany."_

_Ryoma's brow raised; an indication that meant 'so?'. _

_Tezuka shifted awkwardly on the bench. The freshman was a mere meter away from him, he probably _felt _his uneasiness. "And I…accepted."_

_Oh. _

_Ryoma's mouth parted, not sure what to say for a moment. "That's…great."_

"_This means we won't be able to see one another for a long time."_

_Ryoma turned back and looked out to the passing trains rattling along the tracks. _

Ryoma stared up at the ceiling, his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his eyes unfocused and dazed.

_Tezuka…was leaving._

It had finally hit home. His eyes narrowed sadly; his mind full of the memories of them together…and that day on the roof.

"_We can always write to each other…" Tezuka suggested thoughtfully. To be honest, he was having regrets about his decision. _

_Ryoma's eyes settled on the concrete. Writing wasn't the same, but this was Tezuka's _dream_, and he respected and encouraged that…even if that meant Tezuka would have to leave the country to achieve it. "Yeah…"_

Ryoma turned onto his side and eyed the torn piece of paper sitting silently on his beside table; on it was the address to send Tezuka his letters.

**If our live****s could be done over, I would never have left your side**

'September 12th 2003

Tezuka,

How are you fairing in Germany? Everyone misses you here. Especially me. I hope training is going well…what's the food like there? Do they have Ponta? Do they serve a lot of Western food over there? I don't really like it…do you like it? What's the training program like? Do you like your coach?

Ryoma.'

'September 20th 2003

Ryoma,

I'm quite well, thank you. The program here is—to be expected—great, but it's not as great as being back in Japan with you. I know, terribly cliché and corny, but it's true. I miss you.

I smiled when I found that the letter was from you. How are you?

The food? Really Ryoma, you never change. The food is appropriate, Ponta I'm afraid is scarce, and they have many diverse amounts of restaurants. The Western foods are eatable, and yes, my coach is very good.

How are your grades? How's everyone?

Tezuka.'

'September 29th 2003

I'm okay I guess. Nobody's sick, and nobody's dying. My grades?! _Tezuka…_you'll never change, will you? Have you been to any restaurants? Met any interesting people?

Ryoma.'

'October 14th 2003

I'd hope nobody was dying. Shall I change for you then?

Restaurants…no, I haven't I'm afraid.

And what would you classify an 'interesting person' as?

Tezuka.'

'October 30th 2003

Don't ever change, Tezuka.

Ryoma.'

'November 21st 2003

Forgive me for not replying sooner, I just didn't know what to say…

Your last reply made me smile though. I enjoy hearing from you, even though it's seldom…

Anything interesting happening?

Tezuka.'

'December 16th 2003

Well…Christmas is coming up soon. Are you coming home?!

Ryoma.'

'December 24th 2003

Happy Birthday, Ryoma. I hope it was good. I'm sorry I couldn't come home as planned for the Christmas holidays.

Tezuka.'

'January 30th 2004

Its okay I guess. Please return home soon, okay?

Christmas holidays alone without me was probably penance enough.

Ryoma.'

'February 18th 2004

You're beginning to sound like Atobe.

And I promise, I'll come home soon.

Tezuka.'

'February 27th 2004

Very funny.'

There was never a reply after that. Tezuka did go home, but only briefly to spend time with his family. He never did meet up with Ryoma. Soon after Tezuka returned to Germany and went back to training; seemingly forgetting about the boy a little more each day.

**If our lives could be done over, I would never have left your side**

**2007**

Ryoma sat back in his chair and sighed. A long and breathy sigh. He had crammed for the past few hours for university. He'd deferred the year after completing high school to go and work in a camera store for some extra cash and ended up being a year behind a majority of his friends when he entered university. His father; Echizen Nanjiroh was in the room next to him, the television ramped up full volume on a tennis match.

'This, is for the match. To win Wimbledon.'

'…AND HE DOES IT! HE HAS WON WIMBLEDON, TEZUK-'

Ryoma rocked forward; completely ignoring the sounds coming from the television as he began to stack his papers neatly in a pile.

**If our lives could be done over, I would have never left your side**

"Tezuka-san! What are your plans after winning Wimbledon?" One reporter yelled from somewhere unknown.

"I'll be returning to Japan to be married to my fiancée," he replied simply.

More yelling and shouting of questions ensued inside the small conference room as Tezuka merely sat back and answered as bluntly as possible.

**If our lives could be done over, I would never have left your side**

Ryoma had to take the train to his university and back from as well. The trips were long, and Ryoma enjoyed the rattling of the tracks which usually sent him to sleep. Today was no exception as the student closed his eyes wearily, clutching onto his messenger bag.

**If our lives could be done over, I would never have left your side**

Tezuka felt a small smile creep onto his lips as he wandered down the wide pathway. It was good to be back…his pace was strangely slow today, as he wanted to study his old surroundings and get used to them again. He came across a small train crossing used just for pedestrians and saw the lights flashing. He stopped outside the closed gate and waited; hearing the expected rattle of the tracks as the train pushed along.

**If our lives could be done over, I would never have left your side**

Ryoma was jolted by the train and his eyes flew open, immediately spotting a somewhat familiar person waiting behind the boom gate at the crossing. He glanced away for a moment, not thinking and just as quickly whipped his head back to catch a glimpse of the person again. But it was too late, the train passed the crossing without another thought and the memory of a lost love was forgotten.

**If our lives could be done over, I would never have left your side**

Tezuka watched the windows on the train idly; seeing the many different faces and…someone very familiar. His eyes landed on a boy with emerald hair and golden eyes that glimmered at him briefly, before loosing him in the blur of the train. He turned his head to try and get a better look, but he was gone.

* * *

Reviews are loved!!


End file.
